Anthony, It doesn't make any difference if all these stories are myths or not. That's not the point. They're just teaching tools.
...Bill! --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wuasg@...> wrote: > > ED, >  > Exactly. >  > With your comprehensive knowledge of all schools of Buddhism and Zen/zen, > have you come across an episode where Gotama declared, right after his > enlightenment, that everybody has Buddha nature, although it is mostly > occluded by all kinds of kelesa (dirt)? >  > I agree with you that Theravada says you can strive to be 'it', while zen > claims you are already 'it'. >  > Is it possible that the Buddha nature myth is a mahayana invention? >  > I must pronounce here that even if it is an invention, I like it. I also like > the story of Buddha holding out a flower and only Mahakasyapa smiling at it, > although I believe it is another myth. >  > Anthony > > --- On Thu, 19/5/11, ED <seacrofter001@...> wrote: > > > From: ED <seacrofter001@...> > Subject: [Zen] Buddha Nature > To: [email protected] > Date: Thursday, 19 May, 2011, 10:32 PM > > >  > > > > >  > Bill and Daniel, > One difference between Zen and Theravada Buddhism: > It appears that the inherent Buddha Nature of all sentient beings is a basic > premise of Zen. > Whereas in Theravada Buddhism, the corresponding premise is that > there exists the potential for all sentient beings to attain Buddhahood. > --ED >  > From: Oxford Dictionary of Buddhism > Buddha-nature > > (Sanskrit, buddhata, buddha-dhatu; Jap., bussho). In early Buddhist thought, > this term referred to the potentiality for becoming a Buddha through the > traditional methods of study and religious practice. Discussion centred on > clarifying what kind of beings had this potential and how it was to be > developed. > > After the rise of Mahayana Buddhism, some thinkers began to question the > validity of the distinction between practice and enlightenment (bodhi), or > between potentiality and attainment, and so Buddha-nature gradually came to > be seen not as a potential, but as the inherent Buddhahood of every sentient > being. > In this setting, the task then was not to achieve Buddhahood, but to uncover > it. For example, the Platform Sûtra of the Sixth Patriarch compares > Buddhahood to a full moon covered by clouds. When the clouds blow away, the > moon is revealed. It does not gradually come into being nor is it > constructed. Similarly, each being is already a Buddha, but this fact is > obscured by defilements and impurities. Once these are removed, one's > Buddhahood becomes manifest. > > > > --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@> wrote: > > > > Mayka, > > > > I always used to think 'mindfulness' was the same as 'Buddha Nature', but > > after reading a lot of the definitions here I now think it is not. > > > > Your definition is the same, but most of the others are not. > > > > ...Bill! > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
